Whats in a Word Ficlets
by Zofie C. Field
Summary: Ficlet 4 - Beckett always knew their first time would be good...great.
1. Thoroughly

_Note: None of these characters are mine_

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><p><strong>Thoroughly<strong>

"_Winding his fingers into her hair, he kissed her thoroughly."_

Castle leaned back, staring at the sentence he had typed a week earlier. _Before. _Before he jokingly asked Beckett on a date. Before she caught him completely off guard and said yes. Before they passed the hours in a little pizza joint near her apartment. Before he walked her home. Before they ended up pressed against her apartment door, grateful it was late and the hallway was empty. Before she stole his breath and said goodnight.

The next morning they got a case, which had dragged on for days. Days of not being close to her. Days of not being alone with her. Days of not touching her like he was itching to do. Days of being sustained only on the memory of that kiss.

He highlighted the sentence and hit the delete button. You see, the problem was this: _thoroughly_ just doesn't cut it. _Thoroughly_ is an insufficient adverb when it comes to kissing Kate Beckett.

_Thoroughly_ implies completion, reaching a successful end. _Thoroughly _implies that you've sought and sorted out all of the possibilities. _Thoroughly_ is brushing off your hands and stepping back to survey your work. _Thoroughly_ is satisfied enough to stop.

_Thoroughly _is woefully inadequate.

One kiss, and he's already certain that he will never be finished. He will never have kissed her long enough or deep enough to suffice. He'll never make her moan low in her throat enough times to stop and call it a day. He will never have covered every inch of her skin with his lips such that he could feel satisfied to stop searching for a new spot to savor.

Castle tapped his fingers lightly on the keys, willing an appropriate adverb to find its way to the page.

His phone lit up.

_Finally finished the paperwork. Dinner?_

Castle snapped his laptop shut, grabbed his jacket, and headed out the door. The hunt for a sufficient adverb could wait.

Perhaps he just needed to do more research…

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><p><em>Thanks for reading!<em>


	2. Fondly

I'm going to start housing tiny (less than 500 words or so) ficlets and drabbles under the same roof (What's in a Word). This is ficlet #2.

_Note: None of these characters are mine._

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><p><strong>Fondly<strong>

They thought they'd be okay. Even through the physical pain and the emotional turmoil, they thought it would work out. But the months go by, and he still looks at her and sees her dying and she still looks at him and sees the guilt. They go through the motions, but can't quite make it back to where they'd been before everything went to hell. He goes to California on a publicity tour, and it's sunny and warm and forgiving, so he stays. She consults with the Chicago police on a case, and they don't know her or what she's done, so she transfers. And life goes on. He writes one more Heat book and calls it closure. When it arrives on her doorstep, the dedication page simply reads

_I think fondly of you often._

Two years later, the marriage of a former partner and a former friend brings them both back to the city. When the band announces the last dance of the night, she's by his side. She's alive and he's made peace, so they move to the music, picking up the dance they started five long years before.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	3. Irresistible, Stay, Obedient, Bicker

I find myself on a bit of a drabble writing kick, so here they are. All are 100 words.

_Note: Irresistable and Stay were written for the castle100 community on livejournal (prompts: knockout missing scene and recovery, respectively). Alone was written for the castlekink community on livejournal.  
><em>

_Note: None of these characters are mine._

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><p><strong>Stay<strong>

They sit alone on a bench in the long hallway of the funeral home, listening to the whispered strains of the Montgomery family's last goodbyes. The air between is as tense as solid rock until she turns and blurts, "I don't want you to go." He blinks in surprise and she shakes her head, trying to clear it. Failing, she stumbles on, "I mean, we can't be through yet. Not like this." He slides across the bench, passing through the wall that divided them. "We've only just started," she murmurs into his shirt as he wraps her in his arms.

**Irresistible **

"What is it about Kate Beckett that the men can't resist?"

They're driving upstate and he's passing the time by deconstructing her love life. He spends the next hour on her legs, smile, intelligence, and she's ready to kill him.

"Want to know what reels them in, Castle?" and her lips are on his and he's brainless. The kiss is brief but he's too lost in it to know it's over.

"You coming, Castle?" She's holding the car door open, looking at him expectantly.

He shakes his head, and waves her away. He's going to need a moment to recover.

**Alone**

So many dead bodies, so little time. It had been too long since they'd had time to themselves. Beckett slipped into the dim room, wasting no time in claiming the lips she'd been hungering for. The kiss quickly got out of hand, amplified by the time apart. Hands ventured over warm skin as a quiet moan echoed off the walls. They stumbled towards an empty table, as a door banged open in the distance.

"_What the -_ ?" The three boys stood gaping in the morgue doorway, but Beckett and Lanie were too far gone to pay them any heed.

**Obedient**

It was amazing, but stern practicality dictates amazing never ends well. She's not even fully dressed before she's telling him to keep his distance because it can never happen again. So he doesn't touch or whisper or let his eyes linger. He abstains from her, just like she asked of him. So can someone tell her why, for goodness' sake, why, can't she function around him anymore? He's as chaste as a grammar school nun, and she's two breaths and a locked storage closet away from tearing his clothes off again. He's obedient, but good Lord she wishes he wasn't.

**Bicker**

Castle drums his fingers against the car window for the thousandth time. He knows he's annoying her. She started fidgeting twenty minutes ago and she's itching to tell him to quit it, but she's trying this new thing where she won't bicker. And frankly, he's bored. It's no fun to push her buttons if she doesn't push back. He strikes up a rhythm with his foot to accompany his fingertips. Her jaw is getting tighter, so he starts to whistle.

"I swear to God, Castle. I will pull this car over and make you walk."

He grins. "Welcome back, Detective."

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><p><em>Thanks for reading!<em>


	4. First Time

_Note: None of these characters are mine._

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><p><strong>First Time<strong>

"Shit, Castle," Kate says, breathing heavily. "That was fun."

"I told you that you'd like it," he pants, smiling smugly.

Kate lets out a deep chuckle, and leans her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Her body feels like jello. Yoga may be relaxing, but it's nothing compared to this. "To tell you the truth, Castle, I always thought I'd be drunk the first time we did this."

"So you've been thinking about it, huh?" Castle teases. She throws out an arm to smack his chest. "No, honestly, Detective, did you think it would be that bad?" He raises the edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his forehead. When he looks up, he catches her eyes grazing his torso.

"God, no," she says, recovering. "I knew it would be good." He raises an eyebrow, so she amends, "Alright, I knew it would be great. I just figured I'd need something to lower my inhibitions. Just enough to let me get started."

"Well," Castle says, sliding to the floor and pulling her down with him, "I'm glad you gave it a chance. I've wanted to do that since we met four years ago."

"That was a long time to wait, Castle."

"This was well worth it, Beckett."

She grins and nudges him with her shoulder. "So, old man. Are you ready for round two?"

He groans playfully as she springs to her feet and hauls him up off the floor. "You're going to be the death of me."

"You betcha," she laughs as she shoots him twice in the center of his laser tag vest and darts off down the hall.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


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